Why you should know Linux commands

The terminal is at the base of every modern Linux computer, having evolved from the text based terminals that the computers in the 70s had. Today, both Mac and Linux computers, as well as Windows PCs, are controlled through GUIs, which stands for graphical User Interfaces and these are feature rich, user friendly interfaces. Even so, typing text commands into the command prompt or terminal is still a habit many practice, as basic Linux commands can still be accomplished that way. You may wonder why you should bother learning these commands if you may simply use the mouse, for instance, instead. Well, the most obvious reason is that at some moment you may need to control a remote computer that has no available GUI, especially web servers that run on Linux, because these are often stripped of all graphical software that isn’t necessary.

If you are a server administrator or a website developer, then there are several reasons for which you should know at least basic Linux commands and many benefits that come along. One of this reason is represented by website emergencies and configurations. Some of these commands offer solutions to simple issues or problems, but if you don’t know them, then you have to pay another person who does and usually this type of services are quite expensive. So, why pay someone money for a job that you could also do in 5 minutes, such as figuring out why images have stopped loading on your website. Hosting companies generally offer fully managed servers, which come at very high prices, although most of the times, this type of tasks are predominant and with knowledge of such commands you can handle these tasks yourself. Therefore, not only do you get to handle your own issues, but you also get to save money. In addition, having this knowledge and ability on your CV will surely look good if you are looking to get a job as a server administrator or even as an IT engineer at any type of company, because web servers are used in any company or organization and most business relies on them.

You may also wonder why Linux commands are more often the subject of learning than Windows commands, for instance. Well, Windows servers are usually controlled through GUIs, such as VNC or Remote Desktop, not to mention the fact that they have a significantly lower market share than UNIX servers, which include Linux ones. These commands also work on Mac OS X servers and other systems such as Solaris, BSD and HP-UX, therefore knowing commands that work on Linux gives you a competitive advantage, as you will be able to control other systems as well. We live in a world that relies greatly on technology and especially on web server, so you can imagine that having the necessary ability and competence to control them comes with a plethora of advantages.